Thermo safety-valve



K. F. TRIGGS. THERMO SAFETY VALVE. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 24. I9I9.

PaInIea July 13, 1920i.

UNITED STATES' KENNETH E. Tareas, or DAYTON, onio.

THERMO SAFETY-VALVE.

incensi.

V4Application led September 24, 1919. Serial vNo. 326,108;Y

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, YKENNETi-i F. T niece, a citizen of the United States, residing at Dayton, in the county of Montgomery and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and usefullmprovements in Thermo Safety- Valves, of which the following is a specification.

VMy invention relates to a thermally operated safety valve.

The object ofthis Vinvention isA chiefly to produce an outlet for water or other liquid in a system of liquid distribution or circulation when its temperature 'approaches predetermined degrees, and thereby prevent the. bursting of pipes and theconsequent'disablement of said system.

Another object of myinvention is to provide means for causing the valve torunc-` tion at a high and a low degree of temperature, for the prevention of-pipe or system destruction, due to the freezing or boiling of the liquid therein contained.

An advantage of my invention resides in the capacity of the device (for many of its objects) to b e so designed as to' particularly not interfere with the o'w .of the contents in the system where used and` to be only slightly visible on the outside.

Further objects and a'dvantages'will `appear as the description proceeds. f

In the drawings illustrating ferred forni of my invention,`

Figure v1 shows a sectional view of the safety valve,rof the type tov open ata low temperature. i

Fig. 2 represents th'ersafety valve in position in al fluid system, parts being broken away to show the detailswithin.V

Fig. 3

for draining the pipe line both at a high the prei temperature and at a'low temperature.

Fior.

. enlarged, showing a niodification.

represeiits the combination valve is a section Ao f the device, greatlyy cury from the reservoir 2 part way downto- Specicatio'n of Letters Patent.v i Patented July 13,

wai'd the recess 10 in thecasingy- The mery cury in the recess 4 bears against the rod or piston 5,' positioned in a continuationvof recess 4, so designed as to travelV up and At'the lower extremity down in .said recess.

of the rod 5 is a small conical valve 6, 'pi'o- 1 vided 'with a s lot 7, to allow the free action of apin 8 which is mountedin rod 5 andis inserted into the said slot.

downv in the recess 4iwithoutmoving lthe valve 6 until the pin 8 reaches the Vupper endof the slot 7.V l

A spring t), which enci'rcles the rod 5 and bears against the upperwall of the recess -10 v y It should be no# -ticed that the rod 5 mayride freely up and fagainst the valve 6, operates on thev f valve 6 bypressing it down and. keepingit in place until the actionffofthe rod 5 here-f inafter described becomes suliicientto nieve the said valve. r i i! 'i V Openings shown at-11 and 11 connect the liquid in the systemj-(see Fig. 2) with the valve 6 through the-larger recess 10, inentio'ned'more in detail later in thel description. Y

At the lower end of the valve casing l, i

- and which completes the construction of the, same, is a base 12 terminating in a nutshaped head 13 and containing a'recess 14 larger than that shown at 4. The'screwthreads 15 above,"I the head 13 are required for screwing intoa pipeline.

The parts just describedv operatei as fol-1v lows: As the liquidin the system' (see Fig. 1) approaches :the `freezing'point,'the mercuryA in the reservoir 2 lcontracts and 7 removes pressure "from tliepiston 5. The rod 5,plac'ed`just below the mercury in the recess 4, rises withV it. ,As soon as the pin 8V, carried at the extremity of therod 5. and advancing with it'7 reaches the upper en dv of the slot 7 of the valve 6, the said valve 6 also rises by V,atmospheric pressure, opening recess 14. The liquid escapes through ionkv f the openings 11, 11 and 14 to the openair.

' vReferringrnow to Fig. 2,' the partl represente the casingof the safety valve, which is of cylindrical shape; The said casing terminates in the base 12 secured to it, said base being threadedly,connectedto the tube `iosa 16, as shown at 15, andj operated Vb'yfthe `r head 13. y g l f I Tubes 16, 17 andl'SQrcpresent.parts of the` pipe line, the tube l16,-"y'however, 'intended simply to contaginfthe safety valve, i

25 with thelarger recess 10, c

bottom of tube 16 and a part of the langej 19 to show the method of assembly. Screwwhile 17 and 18, connected by the T-iiange 19, form the pipe line of therequired liquid. Y.

Sections are broken away at thetop and threads are'used, as indicated at-20 and 21, for this purpose.

It should be Vnoticed that'the 4top' of the valve vcasing 1 doesnot extend much above .theinterior surface of the main pipe line 17 and 18 which would otherwise interfere with the iiow'. of the contents; but Vfar enough so asfto come substantially in con- 'tact Vwithfthe. liquidfand thereby make the Vaction produced by the thermal condition of the said Aliquidposs-ible. The construction disclosed in Figs. 1 and 2 I do not claim as my invention.

Turning now Vto Fig-. 3, which represents-v a safety valveV designed to drain the pipe line at eithera minimum temperature' or a maximum temperature, 1 as before represents the-casing, v2A the reservoir .of mercury,

3 the s crewcap for the reservoir, and 4the smaller recess connecting the reservoir 7 represents the 'piston rod, as shown in Fig. 1.

l Valve22is ofthe piston type and is p ro vided with an air passage23, and liquid passages l24, 25, 27- and .28, the special functions o'f which will be described laten 2 9 shows a spring to balance the weight of valve 2 2, and. 30 indicates a Vcollar upon which the said spring rests. The: liquid passage; 26 in the valve casing 1 is so positionedthat when the tempera-` ture of :the surrounding atmosphere is in -normal state, the passages 24 and 27 are at equal distances onopposite. sides ofthe saidliquid passage26. 'Oiieliquid passage is all that is required in this design, Vas the construction peculiar to the present ligure doesnot call for more than one. as indicated in Fig. 1, parts 11 and 11.

' partial vacuum inthe recess 4and atmos- Y' sage .27 registers with the passage v26. y

' this position, when Vthe 'device is installed p heric 'pressure on yvalve 22 until the pas- In as`j usual the liow of contents fof. the said system is started through'tlietube16, Fig.

2,' 't0 the said paSsageIQGYa-nd the passage 27, through the eXit 23 tothe open air.V

advancing too-.near the boiling point, the mercury in the reservoir 2 will expand` in the recess 4, thus forciiig'tlie rod 5 down and bringing the passage 24 into registry withthe passageV 26, and in this manner 5 affording an outlet for the liquid of the said system from the passage 26 andthe passage 24 through the passage 25 to the The shoulder on the cap 3 hasbeen removed L i to reduce 'its thickness.

I will now. explain the characteristics of the novel construction. .The `piston rod 31, besides beingA considerably shortened, is rounded'at theend, A`cylinder'32 `fastened tothe valve casing 1 surrounds the piston rod 31 and is indicated in section.v AtftheV lower end ofthe said cylinder, a means 32 has been providedto secure a. pair-'ofv 'levers34 and which may actf as fulcrums `forthe same.4` The levers 34are also slid-Y ably fastenedby a means 35 to the piston rod 31 atone end andto thepistonsh-aped. valve` 33 at .the Iotherpby like means indi?Y cated at 35. Y

The piston shapedyalve 33 contains cav.-

ities36 and 36,.a connecting recess 37 be-v 100 tweenthe cavities 36 and36, and Vpassages 39 and 39 and an exity or outlet 40.

A spring41 corresponds tothe one represented by 29 in Fig. 3 andis supported atY the baseby astrip 42 securedy at each v'end .105'

by countersunk rivets,43.' Y The operation is as follows: The positions of the relative parts as-shown in Fig. 4 are underfnormal conditions and operate in diametrically oppositedirections to those of Fig. 3, Awhich Vmay be explained as follows: As the temperature approaches freez` ing, the pistonrod 31 risesfin the recess 4,

duerto the Acontractionof the mercury in the reservoir 2, therebydrawing the ends of the levers 34. which Vare fastened 'tothe said pistonr rod` by4 the means indicated at 35, upward. A Now due tothe Vfulci-um con'- struction 32 vthe opposite endsv of the said levers will be forced vd0wn,-and as they Vare 120 fastened to ythe piston shaped. Vvalve 33 by a like means to thatat 35, indicated by35,

they will force the said piston shaped valveV down andconnect the opening. in the valve casingf1, shown at 38, withthe passage 3 9. 125

Q Theliquidfcontents of the system can 'then In the event of the Vliquidin the system.

thence through the passages 39 andV 39 to 130,V

the exit 40 which is 4in contactV with the open air. Y

lVhen the temperature approaches boiling, the mercury in the reservoir 2 expands and-forces its way down through the recess- 4, thus in turn forcing the piston rod 3l down. This then carries the shorter ends of the levers 34 with it, and by means of the fulcrum at 32 the longer ends of the'said levers are forced up. The piston shaped valve 33, which is fastened to the said levers as indicated at 35, now travelsup and this time a registration for fluid escape'is made by raising the bottom ofthe said piston shaped valve beyond the level of the opening 38, thereby forming a direct connection with the open air.

The spring 41 is employed as a balance for the piston shaped valve in this figure, the same as indicated at 29 in Fig. 3.

It should be noticed that when the heat i action takes place, the cylinder 32 telescopes into the cavity 36; also that the air passage 37, the use of which has been indicated in the description of,Fig. 3 at part 23, has been shortened considerably.

lVith reference to Fig. 5, 44 indicates the casing for the reservoir of mercury 2, which` is protected as usual by a cap 3, not shown in the present gure. 4 again indicates the cylindrical recess designed to connect the mercury in the reservoir 2 with the piston 5.

Separate parts 45 and 46 comprise a lever which is pivoted in the center of the device and are attached to each other by a spring 53, which will be hereinafter more fully described.

A plate 47 is provided with knobs 48 and 48 and an opening 49. Other openings 50 and 50 are made in the casing 44 to connect with the said opening 49.

Springs 51 and 5l are fastened at oneend to the casing 44, and at the other to the plate 47 to neutralize the position of the said plate.

52 and 52 represent obstructions secured to the casing 44 which prevent the plate 47 from passing either of these points when swinging to the right or left. A spring 53 unites the two parts of lever 45 and 46 and allows them to move independently of each oth'er when required.

The mechanical action of Fig. 5 is as follows: As the temperature rises, the mercury in reservoir 2 vexpands (as previously'described) and forces its way into the cylindrical recess 4; this in turn forces the piston 5 to the left (as viewed in the drawing) and carries the lever 45 with it.

The opposite end of lever 45, indicated at 46,v then turns to. the right and finally reaches the knob 48 a few degrees before the danger point has been attained. The 1 temperature continuing to rise, the lever end 46 forces the plate 47 also to turn to the right, thereby bringing theopenings 49 and Y 50 over each other VandA allowing an escape of the contents of the system. i Y v This unequalizes/ the action ofthe springs 5l and 51 ,and whenv the pressure has been '10 released upon the lrnob48 the plate 47 kwill return to normal position. f

Tf there is `any tendency of the pistonrod 5 to travel farther than is required to Amove the plate 47 so as to bring the openings 49 and 50 completely over each other, the obstruction 52 is so placed as to limit the action of the said plate; While the spring 5B,

vwhich is holdingthe two parts of the lever 45 and 46 together, now allows them to move 80 independently of each other and prevent the y distortion of that portion of the device.

The opposite faction will 'prevent the bursting. of the pipes in the'system when` a tendency toward freezing occurs. v i Y35 It will be noticed that V-shape construction has been provided in the openings 5() and 50. This will allow a gradation of How of the contents of the system when the device is in action.

In Fig. 6V the dot and dash lines indicate the relation of the device tothe pipe, an opening having been made in the said pipe to admit the device by screw-threads.

' While a safety valve has been described 95 as opening at the boiling or freezing point, it should be understood that itis a matter of designto makethe valve operate at any( desired maximum or minimum temperature.

While I have illustrated certain embodiments of my invention, it should be underpassage, thermally responsive mean'sengag` 115 ing said valve, whereby the valve is opened when a desired minimum temperature is reached, and is also opened when a maximum temperature is reached.

3. A safety valve, comprising a housing l120 adapted to beset in a pipe line and'to be in contact with the iuid in said line, said housing being provided with an escape pas-l sage, a valve controlling said passage,and

thermally responsive means controlling said valve, whereby the valve'is moved to open the escape passage when a desired minimum temperature isreached tozdrain vthe pipe line, said thermally responsive meansV fur# ther functioning to move said valveto open said escape passage When a certain maxi'- mum temperature is reached.

LA safety Valve,` comprising escape means open ,to the atmosphere, a valve con'- trollng said escape` means, andthermally responsive means to .normallyv holdv said valve closed, sadfthermally V*responsive means-contracting when a desired' minf open said escape means,` said thermally responslve means further functlomng to'move sald valve to open sald escape passage when a certain maximum temperature slreached.

In testlmony whereof I ax myslgnature.- 15

KENNETH F. TRIGGsf f 

